A new report from Energy UK has today highlighted how the whole
country can benefit from the move to electric vehicles (EVs) with a
call to accelerate the infrastructure and support which will allow
the roll out to go further and faster.
With the government planning to ban the sale of
petrol and diesel cars by 2040, the Electric Vehicle Revolution
report says that the UK must now speed up its progress to a
future where cleaner and more efficient transport can transform
air quality, boost manufacturing and even contribute to meeting
energy demand. EVs can point the way to a future where greater
flexibility and new technology transforms the way consumers use
energy.
With over 105,000 EVs now on the UK roads in August
2017, approximately 600 million UK vehicle miles per year are now
powered by electricity. EVs are cleaner than ever before – now
emitting around half of the C02 of the cleanest non-electric
cars.
The report - launched at an Energy UK event this
morning featuring speakers from E.ON, the Office for Low Emission
Vehicles (OLEV) and EV charging point provider Pod Point - is the
first of a series from Energy UK on electric vehicles. It
sets out findings from Energy UK’s Electric Vehicle Working Group
on how greater collaboration across the energy, automotive and
technology industries are essential to the rapid expansion of EVs
and makes recommendations on areas where support and direction
from government are particularly required:
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A regulatory framework which provides certainty for
future investment and supports and incentivises the development
of charging infrastructure through the forthcoming Electric and
Autonomous Vehicle Bill and Clean Growth Plan.
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More support for innovation and the ability to
share usage data to assist with future infrastructure
planning.
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Developing smart charging arrangements to manage
demand through, for example, time of use
tariffs.
-
Backing solutions which ensure benefits, ease of
use and freedom for EV owners.
Energy UK chief executive Lawrence Slade
said:
“Electric vehicles are the perfect catalyst for a
smarter grid that cuts carbon emissions and empowers
consumers. Car owners could benefit financially from EVs’
ability to store and supply power back to the grid which shows
how the way we all use energy in the future could be
transformed.
“However, the full integration of electric vehicles
into UK’s energy infrastructure is a challenge that demands a
‘whole system’ approach. It requires ambition, close
cooperation across several sectors and a vision that is based
around empowering and benefitting the
consumer.
“Issues like managing demand will need to be tackled
but the prize is substantial – everything from the air that we
breathe through to the manufacturing and tech sector’s stand to
benefit.
“We are ready to lead the sector but we need
government to support this with a clear and sustained vision,
which will drive the investment, changes and services required to
bring about a revolution.”
The Energy UK Electric Vehicle Group, which includes
representatives from British
Gas, Ecotricity, E.ON, EDF Energy, ESB,
Haven Power, National Grid, Npower, OVO Energy, Scottish
Power and SSE, will be producing a series of reports over
the next year to highlight how electric vehicles can be
successfully integrated into the energy system. Its next report
to be published in late 2017 will look in more detail at the
design characteristics of smarter, more integrated power grids
and how to mitigate the demand risk caused by electric
vehicles.
